The string diaries

Loved the way it was written, the multiple timelines were done well, and I a way that made me excited to reach each part. The folklore aspect of it was very enjoyable and really created a more immersive setting. The only down side is the amount of sexual violence though it wasn’t graphic some felt a little unnecessary and kept me wondering if I would end up reading the second book. However after finishing it, I think though still unnecessary it didn’t ruin my overall enjoyment of the book and I will likely continue the series.

So it's a rare thing. I was so bored with this book that I quit reading it. It's like it maybe wants to be ‘The Historian,' but it fails epically and is so boring. The prose is boring. The characters are boring. The plot inasmuch as I learned was boring. Which is unfortunate, because I'm a sucker for mysterious European mythology terrorizing modernity. That stuff can be great, even if it's something more obscure (or made up completely) than vampires or werewolves. But this book–this book was not worth sticking with. The farther along I read, the more boring everything got. Hannah was dull. Her parents were absurd. The whole car accident thing was just plain ridiculous. The whole entire premise was wasted. Jones should have given his ideas to someone who could actually execute them, because he could not.

And the villain because a nearly immortal, accidentally incestuous, evil, insane stalker rapist whose sole motivation for his villainy was to bone a woman...I couldn't decide if I were more offended by that scenario or by the utter trite stupidity of it. It's basically any crime thriller show on TV. It's also someone who doesn't seem to understand the reality of violence against women. I'm not accusing the writer of villainy himself, more naivety. And the fact that Krisztina and Markus were apparently wearing promise rings when she gets raped made me feel a little squicky.

No. I couldn't handle that much boredom. I'm saving what little tolerance I have for the inevitable finale to Justin Cronin's monstrosity.